Management 101
I tried the emcee role for toastmasters last week,
for the first time.
the preparations for it weren't as stressful as doing a speech,
but it was a lot more tiring and stressful on the actual night.
If you're a speaker you can basically relax after your speech slot,
but the emcee has to be on the ball the whole night.
And all my speakers came late,
so i was scrambling around in between speakers to find out their speech titles and how to introduce them.
I would end up somewhere in the far end of the room and someone on stage would suddenly go "back to the emcee" and you would hear me go "oh shit" and then see me running to the stage.
Can't say it wasn't fun.
-------------------------------------------------
It has been an interesting work week.
The management suddenly decided to standardise working hours and my tech happened to be one of those affected and he had to change his working hours.
I wasn't expecting any drama to come out of it so i was surprised when he went "no".
And then unfolded all the drama, as i ping ponged back and forth between him and the management.
I understood where the management was coming from, rules are rules, and traffic jam is not really a valid reason because it's something we all have to deal with.
But he couldn't see it, and though i empathised with his difficulty, I could only do so much.
It was an interesting episode to go through though.
For one thing, i think the office really does have a kind culture.
We could have just forced him to fall into place,
but honestly we did hear him out and try to work things out.
My manager was also trying to help,
and he himself was shuttling to the HOD to see if anything could be done.
so the drama became the watercooler topic of the week.
my tech is notorious for his ill temper so everyone was just finding excuses to walk past us to watch the drama.
haha.
i thought it was pretty funny.
we had multiple hour long talks,
and no he wasn't really that agressive,
i think i'm used to his tone already.
the last talk was a good one,
as he poured out all his grievances to me.
he was carrying all these burdens on him,
and every unhappy event at work was a knot in his heart.
i'm not even sure how i can help him un-tie those knots because they are all events of the past, most of which i'm not even involved in.
he's a character,
as one of my colleagues quipped,
"manage him, and you can manage anybody"
---------------------------------------------
it was a heartwarming week at work.
my colleagues threw me a birthday lunch,
and it was just an amazing turnaround when i recall the dark days when i just started.
the one i had most difficulty with in the beginning was now almost like my buddy at work.
we dubbed ourselves the charlie's angels.
and during our heart to heart talk, my tech also let me in, amidst his tough demeanour, that he knows i've been "enduring him", and how others have been saying he is lucky to have me as boss.
"and i know you don't gossip much like them, you just listen only"
kekkekeke.
when i first started in the job, LJ gave me this verse to encourage me:
(1 Peter 3:16) "..keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."
character is more important than reputation, because the former is who you are, and the latter is just what others think of you. it has never failed me thus far my belief that if you just stick to who you are, pple will see it eventually.
--------------------------------------------
Vincent my ex-colleague actually remembered my bday and smsed me on it.
he's really really sweet.
we used to work really closely on the same project,
and that's a surefire way of seeing all my ugly sides.
i am quite ashamed of some of my behaviour back then.
I can get too focussed on work,
and i was also grappling with issues at that time.
thank God he was extremely patient.
and even then i can remember at least two times when i stretched him to his limit,
and he had to shrug it off aloud "*sigh* Never mind, it's ok la"
he's a good guy,
a great gentleman who kept carrying my heavy juggling bag as we walked to the mrt.
i can't believe how anal i was!
oh dear.
--------------------------------
Some shit happened last week,
one of our projects had a flaw that was caught by the big boss himself.
so everyone below kadang kabut.
as we tried to explain to the managers that we had done our due dilligence,
sometimes we do it a bit too fervently and indirectly imply that the blame was on something else.
As i jogged that evening,
it came to my mind a simple line "Don't point fingers".
And i suddenly thought of all the pple i respected the most at work through the years.
i remember GB, the HSV project manager.
She is one tough woman,
she listens to what you have to say, and has the charisma and ability to get things done.
but step on her toes and she will bite your head off.
But that one time when some big shit happened and she declared,
"i'm the project manager. The blame stops at me."
that was the wow moment that caught me.
especially when the engineers under her were still bickering on who was in the wrong.
I remember RM, also a lady project manager.
she was the epitome of calmness,
she worked crazy hours because ours was a crazy project and she was overall in charge,
but never once did i see her lose her cool.
her hair would go crazy on some mornings,
but she would still be as calm and logical as ever.
RESPECT.
even now i enjoy working under the current project manager and my dept manager.
they have superb analytical abilities,
they can grasp what you have to say very quickly,
and then gauge the risk factor and make the decision firmly.
it's very fun working with them,
because you know they understand the problem,
sometimes they wow you with their ideas,
and mostly you trust they're making the best decision at that point of time.
The best trait abt the PM is also that he doesn't waste time on blame when shit happens.
He'd channel the team's focus on how to solve the problem.
-------------------------------------------------
The other day i was discussing with a colleague on RF technology.
"You understand what i'm saying??" she suddenly looked relieved.
"yea."
"You really understand??"
"yea why?"
"You know how hard i've been trying to explain to my boss? He just doesn't get it, and he got angry with me somemore! you really understand what i'm saying?"
"hahaha...yes i really understand. you sound so relieved that someone finally knows what you're saying."
"exactly! you really understand what i'm saying? OMG finally!"
--------------------------------------------
Working life has been interesting so far.
Not only am i learning new technology,
i've also learnt a lot on management styles by observing the best at work.
cool. :)
I tried the emcee role for toastmasters last week,
for the first time.
the preparations for it weren't as stressful as doing a speech,
but it was a lot more tiring and stressful on the actual night.
If you're a speaker you can basically relax after your speech slot,
but the emcee has to be on the ball the whole night.
And all my speakers came late,
so i was scrambling around in between speakers to find out their speech titles and how to introduce them.
I would end up somewhere in the far end of the room and someone on stage would suddenly go "back to the emcee" and you would hear me go "oh shit" and then see me running to the stage.
Can't say it wasn't fun.
-------------------------------------------------
It has been an interesting work week.
The management suddenly decided to standardise working hours and my tech happened to be one of those affected and he had to change his working hours.
I wasn't expecting any drama to come out of it so i was surprised when he went "no".
And then unfolded all the drama, as i ping ponged back and forth between him and the management.
I understood where the management was coming from, rules are rules, and traffic jam is not really a valid reason because it's something we all have to deal with.
But he couldn't see it, and though i empathised with his difficulty, I could only do so much.
It was an interesting episode to go through though.
For one thing, i think the office really does have a kind culture.
We could have just forced him to fall into place,
but honestly we did hear him out and try to work things out.
My manager was also trying to help,
and he himself was shuttling to the HOD to see if anything could be done.
so the drama became the watercooler topic of the week.
my tech is notorious for his ill temper so everyone was just finding excuses to walk past us to watch the drama.
haha.
i thought it was pretty funny.
we had multiple hour long talks,
and no he wasn't really that agressive,
i think i'm used to his tone already.
the last talk was a good one,
as he poured out all his grievances to me.
he was carrying all these burdens on him,
and every unhappy event at work was a knot in his heart.
i'm not even sure how i can help him un-tie those knots because they are all events of the past, most of which i'm not even involved in.
he's a character,
as one of my colleagues quipped,
"manage him, and you can manage anybody"
---------------------------------------------
it was a heartwarming week at work.
my colleagues threw me a birthday lunch,
and it was just an amazing turnaround when i recall the dark days when i just started.
the one i had most difficulty with in the beginning was now almost like my buddy at work.
we dubbed ourselves the charlie's angels.
and during our heart to heart talk, my tech also let me in, amidst his tough demeanour, that he knows i've been "enduring him", and how others have been saying he is lucky to have me as boss.
"and i know you don't gossip much like them, you just listen only"
kekkekeke.
when i first started in the job, LJ gave me this verse to encourage me:
(1 Peter 3:16) "..keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."
character is more important than reputation, because the former is who you are, and the latter is just what others think of you. it has never failed me thus far my belief that if you just stick to who you are, pple will see it eventually.
--------------------------------------------
Vincent my ex-colleague actually remembered my bday and smsed me on it.
he's really really sweet.
we used to work really closely on the same project,
and that's a surefire way of seeing all my ugly sides.
i am quite ashamed of some of my behaviour back then.
I can get too focussed on work,
and i was also grappling with issues at that time.
thank God he was extremely patient.
and even then i can remember at least two times when i stretched him to his limit,
and he had to shrug it off aloud "*sigh* Never mind, it's ok la"
he's a good guy,
a great gentleman who kept carrying my heavy juggling bag as we walked to the mrt.
i can't believe how anal i was!
oh dear.
--------------------------------
Some shit happened last week,
one of our projects had a flaw that was caught by the big boss himself.
so everyone below kadang kabut.
as we tried to explain to the managers that we had done our due dilligence,
sometimes we do it a bit too fervently and indirectly imply that the blame was on something else.
As i jogged that evening,
it came to my mind a simple line "Don't point fingers".
And i suddenly thought of all the pple i respected the most at work through the years.
i remember GB, the HSV project manager.
She is one tough woman,
she listens to what you have to say, and has the charisma and ability to get things done.
but step on her toes and she will bite your head off.
But that one time when some big shit happened and she declared,
"i'm the project manager. The blame stops at me."
that was the wow moment that caught me.
especially when the engineers under her were still bickering on who was in the wrong.
I remember RM, also a lady project manager.
she was the epitome of calmness,
she worked crazy hours because ours was a crazy project and she was overall in charge,
but never once did i see her lose her cool.
her hair would go crazy on some mornings,
but she would still be as calm and logical as ever.
RESPECT.
even now i enjoy working under the current project manager and my dept manager.
they have superb analytical abilities,
they can grasp what you have to say very quickly,
and then gauge the risk factor and make the decision firmly.
it's very fun working with them,
because you know they understand the problem,
sometimes they wow you with their ideas,
and mostly you trust they're making the best decision at that point of time.
The best trait abt the PM is also that he doesn't waste time on blame when shit happens.
He'd channel the team's focus on how to solve the problem.
-------------------------------------------------
The other day i was discussing with a colleague on RF technology.
"You understand what i'm saying??" she suddenly looked relieved.
"yea."
"You really understand??"
"yea why?"
"You know how hard i've been trying to explain to my boss? He just doesn't get it, and he got angry with me somemore! you really understand what i'm saying?"
"hahaha...yes i really understand. you sound so relieved that someone finally knows what you're saying."
"exactly! you really understand what i'm saying? OMG finally!"
--------------------------------------------
Working life has been interesting so far.
Not only am i learning new technology,
i've also learnt a lot on management styles by observing the best at work.
cool. :)
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